"Coming in, we were shooting 51 percent from the line as a team," Eastern York coach Cheryl Land said. "That may have been the difference in the game for us. We have not been a particularly strong free throw shooting team. We did very well tonight. I was really pleased to see that.

"Our floor shooting wasn't as great, but I was happy to see that stat. We did what we needed to do."

While Eastern York advanced on a stellar night from the foul line, Trinity was hampered by some shooting woes from the field. The Shamrocks were 5-for-15 in the opening quarter and 9-for-29 from the field at halftime. A 2-for-10 fourth quarter helped seal their fate.

Trinity was still in the game with 39 seconds left. After a Shamrocks timeout, 5-foot-5 junior guard Briana Betz-White cut the lead to 40-38 on a layup off an inbounds play.

Eastern York (17-7) followed with a free throw from senior Elizabeth Myers with 17.8 seconds left and came up big when her second shot was missed and picked up by sophomore Leah Myers. The Golden Knights got the ball out front where senior guard Krissy Pennell was fouled with 6.5 seconds left. She sank both free throws.

Eastern York's Morgan Thomas dives to the ball and tries to keep it from going out of bounds during Wednesday's District 3 game against Trinity. Thomas was unsuccessful, but Eastern York won, 43-38.
(For the Daily Record/Sunday News -- Mike Zortman)

"It was a great game between two great teams," Land said. "That is what an 8-9 matchup should be."

Trinity (12-11) came into the game with not one, but two, 6-foot-2 players on their roster -- senior starter Maria Schwartz and sophomore Miranda Nixon. Both played significant minutes but did not make a field goal between them, finishing with three combined points.

"Our plan was to play them before they got the ball," Land said. "We were aiming to deny the entry pass."

The inside play of Liz Myers, Morgan Thomas and Leah Myers also helped Eastern York outrebound Trinity by a 33-30 margin.

"I thought we did a good job on the boards," Land said. "We did what we had to do. I think we did a good enough job to keep our transition game going and limit their second shots."

Like Trinity, Eastern York also struggled from the field, shooting 6-of-26 in the first half and 3-of-10 in the third quarter. A 4-of-9 fourth quarter was its best of the game.

"I was happy we got the open looks," Land said. "We got plenty of those, and they will fall. I like a versatile offense. All five kids on the floor know they can take an open shot, and we want them to."